An Unexpected Gesture
by gakusei kagome
Summary: Yuki and Kyou's relationship gradually seems to be improving, to everyone's surprise.It all begins with an unexpected outcome to a scholarly competition, in which Kyou bows to Yuki. This oddly peaceful streak will most certainly end...wont it?
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to 'Fruits Basket'; I am merely weaving a tale based on its delightful characters.

Tooru ran down the hallway gleefully; she approached Kyou and nearly threw her arms around him as she remembered - in the nick of time - that doing this would cause Kyou to transmogrify into a feline. She opted instead to hug his arm; she looked up at him, her eyes full of joy. "Oh Kyou-san!' she squealed, 'this is one of the kindest things you've ever done!'

Kyou returned Touru's cloyingly sweet gaze with an uncertain glare. Big displays of emotion unnerved him. "Yeah, yeah, it's no big deal,' he mumbled slowly, untangling his arm from her grasp.

"But Kyou-san,' she protested, putting her hands together, 'It is a big deal! This could do wonders building bridges between you and Yuki!"

Touru had been shocked, and incredibly relieved when she had heard of Kyou's altruistic act. It had been announced a few weeks ago that The best student in the class was to be offered a scholarship, for 30,000. Of course, this became another competition between Kyou and Yuki, who already competed in every other aspect of their lives, right down to who could stay awake the longest at night - one of their more juvenile challenges. Both Kyou and Yuki had sweated agonizingly over the work assigned for the last term. Of course, everyone was shocked when the final term results were issued: Kyou and Yuki were tied, both at 99 percent! The teachers were unsure of what to do; they wanted to offer both prodigies a scholarship, but there simply was not enough money to do so. Neither boy refused to give up the scholarship to his rival. Everyone was extremely agitated by this unprecedented event, especially kyou, who was hounded by Yuki's fangirls, unremittingly demanding that he submit to Yuki. "He's better than you Kyou-kun! Give Yuki-san the money!" they would wine petulantly. His reply was invariably "Never! I'll never let him have it!" hollered with such vigour it usually sent the fangirls packing. The animosity between Kyou and Yuki was amplified exponentially, both in disbelief that the other had matched him. The teacher's decided to arrange a sudden death quiz competition; if neither boy missed a question...No one wanted to contemplate that scenario. Then again, no one wanted to consider what would happen when one of the boys won either...Shigure just hoped that another house demolishing fight wouldn't result from this mess. Yuki was more withdrawn than usual during this period; he disliked all the attention. Kyou was more fiery and impassioned than usual. It seemed everything that had reached an impasse, which could only be moved through intense pressure. So when Touru heard of Kyou's brilliant suggestion, her joy was understandable. Kyou had went the the head teacher, and had suggested, respectfully of course, that the scholarship money could be halved, a portion going to each of them. The head teacher had been delighted at this idea, glad to be rid of the whole fiasco(one wonders why they were unable to draw that conclusion with their own faculties). News had spread fast throughout the school that it had been Kyou who had resolved everything which only infuriated Yuki's fangirls further. They didn't want the students singing anyone's praises for anyone other than Prince Yuki! But, on the whole, everyone was glad this tense period was over, especially Tooru.

'Kyou-san, I don't think you understand what a big deal this is!" Touru exulted, her eyes shining. Suddenly, Uo-chan, and Arisa walked up, the former gazing at Kyou with disbelief, and the other staring inscrutably at him. Kyou turned away, muttering darkly under his breath, "God damn Yankee, and Denpa, what the hell are they staring at?'

"Oi, Kyou! I couldn't believe it when I heard! You actually did something selfless? For Yuki, nonetheless? Are you growing soft?" Arisa uttered slowly, smirking.

"Your waves have considerably lightened Kyou; I can't express enough how beneficial this good deed was to your aura." murmured Uo-chan, blinking. Kyou flinched at their comments, turning around, and staring the two of them down. "Keep your observations to yourself!" he snarled haughtily. Touru smiled at Kyou. She understood better than anyone else that this rough exterior was just a shield, veiling his -often kind - sentiments. 'He's been getting better though,'she thought.' A month ago, his language would've been a bit more colourful.' At that moment, the bell rang, signalling the resumation of classes. They shuffled off to class together in silence.


	2. The Storm After the Calm

They reached their classroom in the nick of time, sitting down quickly. Both Tooru and Kyou were subjected to hostile glares from Yuki's fanclub. They tried to ignore it as best as they could, looking straight ahead at the board. The teacher walked in, silencing any remaining conversations with a stern glare. It was the last class of the day - everyone was longing deeply for the day to end, inexorably causing the time to feel as if it was passing slower than a snail. As the teacher began his lesson on English orthography, the students slowly, but unfailingly, began to drift off, staring blankly at the teacher as he taught. Tooru glanced curiously at Kyou - she was still in disbelief. Although she was very optimistic that one day Yuki and Kyou would become friends, it seemed very unlikely - even to her - that Kyou would submit to Yuki, in even the slightest way, in any competition. It seemed sometimes that Kyou lived solely for his competition with Yuki. 'What came over him?' she wondered to herself. Suddenly, she felt the eyes of the class on her. She looked up to find the teacher staring at her expectantly.

"Well, Honda, what is the answer?' the teacher said irritably, gesturing at the words he had written on the board.

"Um...um.." She was lost - she had not been paying attention.

"Pay attention from now on!" he remonstrated frustratedly. He then presented the question to the other students in the class, securing the answer he wanted from one of Yuki's fangirls. Tooru sighed in relief, glad that she had not been punished for her inattentiveness. The rest of the hour went uneventfully - the teacher assigned some short questions from the textbook. The bell rang soon after. Tooru ran up to Yuki as the students were filing out of the class. "Hey, Souma-kun!' she said ebulliently, smiling at him.

"Hello, Honda-san," he replied, returning her smile. He packed up his books, and they began to walk out of the classroom together. "Honda-san, did you ask Kyou to suggest that to the head teacher?" he asked. Tooru blinked in surprise.

"No! It was Kyou-kun's idea!"

"Really..." Yuki looked unconvinced.

"It really was!" Tooru said earnestly.

"Hmmm,' he said, a glimmer of doubt still flickering across his features. "I guess he did then."

"He did. It's surprising, isn't it?" Tooru replied; Yuki nodded, appearing to be deep in thought.

When they arrived home, they found the house rather quiet. 'Tadaima kaerimashita!' Tooru called out, Yuki following with 'Tadaima!' They heard the faint voice of Shigure reply, 'Okaeri!' It sounded as if he was in his study. 'I suppose we shouldn't bother him, since he's probably writing?" Tooru queried cheerfully.

"Yeah - although he may not be writing," Yuki replied, suspiciously. Although Tooru suspected the best of everyone - including the lecherous Shigure - Yuki had a more cynical view of his cousin

"Oh, ok," she replied, not inferring anything from Yuki's reply. "I should go put away my things. I have to get to work soon!"

Yuki nodded; Tooru ran up the stairs to her room, Yuki looking after her until she disappeared from sight. He sighed, and walked to the TV room. He wondered when Kyou would be home. He wanted to talk to him - something he never thought he would desire. He slid under the kotatsu, placing his elbows on the table, holding his face in his hands. All Yuki could contemplate were Kyou's motives for seeking out an amicable solution to their quandary, rather than fighting Yuki persistently until the end, as was his usual inclination. Did he deem this competition inconsequential, since it would not garner him acknowledgment from the Souma family? Did he wish to put Yuki off his guard with this gesture? Or was he trying to improve himself for Tooru? Yuki racked his brains for answers, none of them seeming that plausible to him. 'Of course,' he though, sardonically, 'perhaps Kyou does things without strategy, the way he fights.' Yuki was broken from his reverie by the sound of the shoji being opened forcefully. 'Must be Kyou,' he thought, sighing and getting up from the kotatsu. He walked out of the room and saw Kyou standing by the shoji, removing his shoes and donning his slippers. Yuki could faintly hear him muttering something along the lines of, 'Damn fangirls, wont leave me alone,' under his breath, as he grimaced, apparently recalling the memory of his legion fans. "Hey,' Yuki called gently, anticipating a rude reply from Kyou.

"Hey,' Kyou replied, absentmindedly, walking past Yuki to the kotatsu.

Yuki was shocked by this mild reaction. "Kyou, there's something I want to discuss," Yuki began, tentatively.

"You sound like a chick," Kyou replied brusquely. Now that was more like Kyou.

Yuki ignored this comment, getting straight ot the point. "Why did you suggest that they halve the scholarship?"

Kyou looked at him carefully for a moment, and then responded, "I just wanted it out of the way. It was interferring with my training."

Yuki stared at Kyou with equal focus. "I don't think that's all. You never willingly give up to a competitor, even when you're sure to lose," Yuki replied. "So, forgive me for wondering why this time you chose to do just that."

Kyou looked away, wondering if Yuki did know the real reason for his submission; if he didn't, he sure wasn't going to tell him. "None of your business, you damn rat!" he yelled, tiring of maintaining such precarious composure.

Yuki sighed, bringing a delicate hand to his forehead. "You never quit do you, baka neko."

"Neither do you, you damn rat! Why the hell do you care why I did that? Huh?" Kyou snarled in return.

"Because even you do things for a reason," Yuki returned, his voice beginning to raise his voice.

"Oh, that's it, rat, you're going down!" Kyou got up suddenly from the kotatsu, jumping at Yuki, aiming a fierce kick at his head. Yuki caught his foot in his hand, throwing him to the side, trying not to hurl Kyou into the TV or the kotatsu; Kyou ended up flying through the fragile shoji, leaving a gigantic hole in his wake. Yuki shook his head, and sighed. "Baka neko. I was just trying to get you to talk. It always has to end up in a fight with you." Kyou glared at Yuki as he lay on the floor, his cheeks flushed with rage.

"SHUT UP!" he roared, leaping to his feet and running off, presumably to sulk on the roof.

Tooru and Shigure suddenly walked up beside Yuki, and he immediately felt regret about the altercation, knowing how it pained Shigure to see his house demolished time and time again; and knowing how their quarrels upset Tooru. .

"Is Kyou-kun ok?" she asked, concerned.

"More importantly, is my house okay?" Shigure interjected, frustratedly.

"He's fine," Yuki replied, 'and don't worry about your house; I'll fix the shoji."

"That's good," Tooru replied, smiling slightly. "I have to go to work now." It was then that Yuki noticed that she had changed into her uniform.

"Ah, have a good night, Tooru-kun," Shigure replied, switching from disconcertment to joviality in an instant.

"Ah, of course," Yuki said, grinning. "I'll come to walk you home after work."

"Oh, you don't have to-" She stopped, realizing that Yuki would not allow her to refuse his offer. "That's ever so nice of you, Souma-kun. I'd better be going now. Itte kimasu!"

"Itte rasshai!" Yuki and Shigure replied in unision, watching as she left the house.

A few moments later, she came running back. "I forgot to tell you," she said, breathlessly, 'that dinner's in the oven. All you have to do is heat it up! I left instructions!"

Yuki smiled, loving Tooru's ditzy manner; and her altruism. "Thank you, Honda-san,' he replied sincerely. "I'll make sure to heat it up; I don't want to let Shigure near the oven," he finished, giving Shigure a doubting look, which Shigure ignored.

She laughed lightly, and waved good-by, leaving the house for the second time.

"Better get to work, Yuki-kun," Shigure said gleefully, gesturing towards thes shoji and laughing as he returned to his study. Yuki grimaced at his retreating back, resigning himself to several hours of painstaking work of shoji reparation. 'At least it should take my mind off baka neko,' he thought ruefully, as he began to work on the shoji.


	3. Susceptibilities

The Common Link

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own the rights to 'Fruits Basket.'

Kyou listened absent-mindedly to the dull sounds of the conversation below him. He was seething with anger, furious that Yuki had been, yet again, too formidable an opponent for him. 'Why can't I beat him!' Kyou demanded of himself, "Why? I spend nearly every hour of the day training, and he beats me without even breaking a sweat!" Kyou placed his forehead in his hands, breathing heavily, the rage and chagrin of another defeat coursing through his body like a vengeful poison. He sat like this for several minutes, not wanting to look up. He didn't know what he would do if anyone came up to see him. He was quite predisposed to shouting them off the roof; and if Yuki came up, he was so infuriated that he may even be inclined to shove him off the roof. 'I probably couldn't even do that...' Kyou thought angrily. Finally, he lifted his head up. He had wept a little, from the sheer vexation the past few days had caused him. "Damn rat...' he muttered under his breath, a grimace crossing his face as he wiped away the rare tears. 'Why the hell am I crying?' Kyou asked of himself indignantly, as he sniffled lightly. 'C'mon, get it together,' he remonstrated himself. He stood up, and began pacing, trying to wipe the memory of the recent altercation from his mind. He paused as he heard the familiar sound of the shoji as it was pried open, soon followed by the sound of light footsteps moving away from the house. 'Tooru-kun must be off to work..' he thought sadly. He had wanted to talk to her. That was why he had initially been so calm with Yuki - he didn't want any attention drawn to him, so as to have a better chance of speaking unnoticed with Tooru. But Yuki, for some inexplicable reason, had had an urge to speak with him; and what's more, he had wanted to question him. Kyou was willing to accommodate Yuki's interrogation; to a certain point, that is; but Yuki had superceded that point in asking for Kyou's motives in surrendering a portion of the money to him in the scholarship competition. Kyou wasn't good at prevarications; and Yuki didn't accept in the slightest his insistence that he had done it to merely have the whole thing out of the way. At that juncture, Kyou had abandoned conversing with Yuki, and resorted to his forte concerning interpersonal relations: fighting. Of course, the unlikely martial arts virtuoso Yuki had defeated him once again, and Kyou had retreated to the roof in shame. Kyou gritted his teeth as the memory flashed through his mind for the nth time since he had fled up to the roof. He continued pacing, his agitation growing. He wondered why Yuki had even cared why he had made the suggestion to the faculty. He had assumed that he was merely the 'baka neko' to Yuki - of little or no consequence. But apparently, his actions were of some interest to Yuki. This was very intriguing to Kyou; and quite an intriguing twist of fate - now he was also interested in what had fomented Yuki's actions. Perhaps it was the same reason for his actions - Tooru. Kyou had been in love with her almost from the start; and he was always afraid that she would disappear, that she would stop caring for him, that someone would take her from him: essentially, he was afraid of losing her love. He had suspected that Yuki also shared the same feelings for Tooru; and now he had something to support that supposition. 'Damn rat,' Kyou muttered, 'he just has to take everything away from me...' Kyou finally stopped pacing, and sat down. It was almost a given to him that in a rivalry of love Yuki would be superior to him as in battle. He didn't know what he had hoped to accomplish by settling the competition amiably; it's not like it would put him ahead of Yuki in Tooru's eyes. Perhaps he had just wanted to make Tooru happy; to see that effervescent smile which revealed itself at even the most insignificant delights; to cheer the girl who had given him so much in so short a time. This alone was worth Kyou's minor submission to Yuki, which had irked him greatly as he conceived it, and carried it out. He smiled as he remembered how overjoyed she had been. 'Tooru-kun...' he murmured, wondering how she was faring at work. He knew what a diligent worker she was, and he admired her greatly for it. Suddenly, he thought of a way in which he could get some time to speak with Tooru privately: he would go speak to her at work. 'Ah, but doesn't that damn rat go and walk her home every night?' he remembered dejectedly. But he could beat him there! Kyou, his mind made up, leapt defly off the roof, landing lightly on the ground below. He began to walk to Tooru's place of work. He wouldn't interrupt her shift, but he would speak to her in private, if only for a moment, before the damn rat arrived to walk her home. He'd wait as long as he'd have to; anything for a moment with Tooru.


End file.
